Ardnamurchan Lighthouse is a listed 19th century

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mar ...

, located on

Ardnamurchan Point Ardnamurchan (, gd, Àird nam Murchan: headland of the great seas) is a peninsula in the ward management area of Lochaber, Highland, Scotland, noted for being very unspoiled and undisturbed. Its remoteness is accentuated by the main access ...

Lochaber Lochaber ( ; gd, Loch Abar) is a name applied to a part of the Scottish Highlands. Historically, it was a provincial lordship consisting of the parishes of Kilmallie and Kilmonivaig, as they were before being reduced in extent by the creation ...

part of the

Highland council area Highland ( gd, A' Ghàidhealtachd, ; sco, Hieland) is a council area in the Scottish Highlands and is the largest local government area in the United Kingdom. It was the 7th most populous council area in Scotland at the 2011 census. It share ...

of Scotland. The lighthouse with its , pink

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

tower was completed in 1849 to a design by

Alan Stevenson Alan Stevenson FRSE LLD MInstCE (28 April 1807 – 23 December 1865) was a Scottish civil engineer, known for designing and building lighthouses in and around Scotland. Life Alan Stevenson was born in Edinburgh on 28 April 1807, the eldest ...

. It is the only lighthouse in the UK built in the

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

ian style. Mains electricity was installed in 1976, the light was automated in 1988 and is now operated remotely by the

Northern Lighthouse Board The Northern Lighthouse Board (NLB) is the general lighthouse authority for Scotland and the Isle of Man. It is a non-departmental public body responsible for marine navigation aids around coastal areas. History The NLB was formed by Act of P ...

from Edinburgh. The former keepers' cottages and outbuildings are owned by the Ardnamurchan Lighthouse Trust and operated as a visitor centre, with a museum called the 'Kingdom of Light' - ''Rioghachd na Sorcha''. Exhibits detail the history and operations of the lighthouse, including access to the restored engine room and workshop with the original fog horn. Other displays include the geology and natural history of the area, and local social history and culture. A part-time light keeper is retained by the Northern Lighthouse Board who is based at Ardnamurchan and who also looks after

Rubha nan Gall Rubha nan Gall lighthouse is located north of Tobermory on the Isle of Mull beside the Sound of Mull. The name means "Stranger's Point" in Scottish Gaelic. It was built in 1857 by David and Thomas Stevenson and is operated by the Northern Light ...

and Corran Point lighthouses. Less maintenance is required with the introduction of

LED A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor Electronics, device that Light#Light sources, emits light when Electric current, current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy i ...

lights. At Ardnamurchan the power is only 48

watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Wa ...

s although in 2019 it was increased to 72 watts. The last part of the computer game Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened takes place in this lighthouse. In 2021, the lighthouse was featured in an episode of British motoring television programme

Top Gear Top Gear may refer to: * "Top gear", the highest gear available in a vehicle's manual transmission Television * ''Top Gear'' (1977 TV series), a British motoring magazine programme * ''Top Gear'' (2002 TV series), a relaunched version of the or ...

, where the presenters raced three

off-road vehicle An off-road vehicle, sometimes referred to as an overland or adventure vehicle, is considered to be any type of vehicle which is capable of driving on and off paved or gravel surface. It is generally characterized by having large tires with dee ...

s to deliver and fit a new light bulb. 2013 Keep Talking.jpg, Foghorn

References

External links

Northern Lighthouse Board

Ardnamurchan Lighthouse Trust
Lighthouses completed in 1849 Category A listed lighthouses Museums in Highland (council area) Lighthouse museums in the United Kingdom Maritime museums in Scotland Local museums in Scotland Category A listed buildings in Highland (council area) 1849 establishments in Scotland Ardnamurchan {{Europe-lighthouse-stub

See also

References

External links